


Lay All Your Love On Me

by Rivkae



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Mamma Mia AU, Slow Burn, but it's nothing serious, maybe? i'm bad at writing so i guess we'll find out, missing parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-02-11 01:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivkae/pseuds/Rivkae
Summary: Levi and Mikasa were the only family that Armin knew. He had briefly met his uncle Kenny before his passing but they weren’t close and it wasn’t like Levi had been exactly on good terms with his mother’s sibling. Armin had grown up hearing stories of his grandmother, a bright light in Levi’s eyes, but she had passed long before Armin had taken his first breath.Family was important to him but he had so little. Not that he was ungrateful for what he had but he longed for more. He wanted to know where he came from, who had loved his mother so much to give him the gift of life. He wanted a father.





	1. Everything is New

**Author's Note:**

> i'm an abba fan and musical fan so mamma mia is like a gift from god to me
> 
> i first thought of this dumb fic idea about four years ago and told my friend in a joking manner. i decided to start writing it a few weeks ago when i was bored and wanted to use my months-old notebook for the first time  
> so yah thanks to [Elvamire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvamire) for listening to me joke about this and then having to beta it 
> 
> ( MAIN NOTE: omegaverse is not a main feature of this fic and i doubt i'll be venturing into it. i just needed an excuse for levi to have a kid and i like abo, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Armin’s mother had always been quiet about matters of his past and had a habit of answering his son’s curious questions about his youth with exasperated sighs and slow shakes of the head.  
Isabel and Farlan, farmhands and Levi’s only childhood friends, were Armin’s only clues to the secretive past. Farlan was more reserved, often unwilling to divulge information and often sat back, quiet but always listening, whilst his more enthusiastic counterpart was more than happy to tell Armin anything and everything. She bounced around, excitedly relating childhood stories, how cute small Levi was (not that you should ever say that to his face) and his fierce loyalty to his loved ones. She went into detail about his promiscuous years; the years of partying and faceless men; making Armin cringe and cover his ears with his pale palms. Farlan huffed and shot Isabel a look of genuine disappointment. Isabel grinned and danced around the haybale at the centre of the barn where the three friends were hiding so they could talk about Levi without the worry that his mother would overhear them. She stood over Farlan, resting a bony elbow on one of his broad shoulders. She tapped her fingers on her chin, pondering. The young blond looked over and tilted his head, furrowing his thin brows and taking in Isabel’s mischievous expression.

“I don’t like that look,” Armin groaned, looking to Farlan for help. Farlan simply shrugged.

“I wonder,” Isabel started slowly, tantalisingly, “if Levi still has that diary.”

“Diary?”

Armin’s interest was piqued, albeit guiltily. He would be going against his morals and delving into Levi’s privacy. Armin was at war with his own conscious but if Levi was never going to give his son the answers he so desperately wanted then he was going to need to go the extra mile.

“Yup. Battered ol’ thing that he carried around everywhere. Never told us a thing so I’d reckon it’s all in there.”

Farlan coughed. “I would just like to point out that I am against this,” he quickly pointed out, pushing Isabel away and falling back onto the haybale and throwing an arm over his face. Isabel shushed him, pranced around the barn and giggled maniacally.   
Armin let out a quiet chuckle and Farlan groaned, letting his arms fall to his sides, slate eyes fixed on the patched roof.

“We’re doomed.”

\---

Isabel left to begin her search for the infamous diary and Farlan, adamant that he wanted nothing to do with this tawdry scheme, left them to check on the animals roaming the fields. Armin returned to his room.   
He was buzzing with nervous energy and giddy with a mischievous excitement. He had never gone behind his mother’s back and despite Levi’s cold demeanour, he wasn’t mean and was close with his cherub son.

Armin sat back at his desk, a graduation gift from Levi all those years ago. As a family, they had never felt the need for brand new furnishing, always buying second-hand or accepting hand-me-downs. Disregarding the farm equipment, there was nothing entirely new in their quaint country house besides the desk. Armin cherished it, polishing the mahogany each day to keep it in pristine condition. That was one thing he had inherited from Levi; respect of all possessions, regardless of how new or old. Levi had grown up without a whole lot of comfort and so every little thing was precious to him.  
Armin pulled open a small drawer to the right of him and reached in, pulling out a notebook and a pack of blank invitations.

Planning a wedding was long and taxing and, quite frankly, he was becoming increasingly more bored. It was a good that he and his excitable fiancé, Eren, both wanted a small ceremony with only family and friends present.

Stress and dismay swelled through Armin’s slight body.  
Levi and Mikasa were the only family that Armin knew. He had briefly met his uncle Kenny before his passing but they weren’t close and it wasn’t like Levi had been exactly on good terms with his mother’s sibling. Armin had grown up hearing stories of his grandmother, a bright light in Levi’s eyes, but she had passed long before Armin had taken his first breath.

Armin rapped his fingers against his desk and leaned his chin on his propped-up arm. He sighed and shook his head. Family was important to him but he had so little. Not that he was ungrateful for what he had but he longed for more. He wanted to know where he came from, who had loved his mother so much to give him the gift of life. He wanted a father.

Opening his notebook hesitantly, he picked up a pen and wrote: _Dear father, it would bring me immense joy if you could_ —  
His hand was shaking as he dropped the pen. He stared at the written words, letting his mind digest the weighted ‘f’-word.

A knock at the door shook Armin from his distracted stupor and he hurried to cover up what he had written as though it was something wrong and unnatural.   
He only got as far as covering the lined page when his bedroom door was flung open. He heard her before he saw her.

“I found it!” Isabel proclaimed, holding the infamous diary high in the air.

“Keep it down,” Armin begged, shutting his tainted notebook and standing, moving quickly to the door and shutting it as Isabel danced into the room, holding the diary to her chest. She squealed and fell backwards onto the bed, kicking long legs in the air. Armin stood at the end of the bed and watched as Isabel clawed at the closed pages.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Armin said, picking at his nails.

“What do you mean? This book holds all the answers.”

“I know, I know. What if mom finds out?”

Isabel waved a hand and made a noise. “Don’t think about that. Think about all the answers, Min.”

Armin closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Reading was something that came naturally to him and he found comfort in the yellowed pages of a masterful novel. This, however, was a book that Armin didn’t want to delve into; he didn’t want to leaf through the pages and soak in the ventures of Levi’s youth.   
He made a split-second decision. Squeezing his eyes shut, he reached forward and accepted the diary from Isabel’s giving hands. She let out a large whoop and sat up, crossing her legs and waiting expectantly to see the next phase of the plan.

Armin inspected the book he held so carefully. The cover was black, scratched and scuffed from the years of use. In precise silver writing, _Stay the fuck out_ was scrawled across the top. He chuckled weakly at the fond familiarity; it was definitely Levi.   
He took a deep breath and opened the book.

~

_January 17 th 1995\. _

_I’m not saying ‘dear diary’, fuck that. I made a bad decision. A real bad decision.  
There’s this slimy fuck, Nile Dok, in my class and he makes my skin fucking crawl. Unless I’m drunk, apparently._

_I woke up in a sweaty, horrible mess with Dok’s arm over me. And… my ass hurts like a motherfucker. I am never letting Hanji mix drinks for me ever again._

~

Armin groaned. It wasn’t graphic, wasn’t nearly as bad as anything Isabel had told him, but the very image made him queasy. Dok was a familiar name but he’d only heard it mentioned in jest, teasing mockery thrown at his mother. Armin shifted the book slightly and a photograph fell from the next pages. He grabbed it.

He recognised his mother, small and pissed off with a huffed look clouding his face, and Hanji.   
Hanji was unrelated but had begged Levi for years to let little angelic Armin call her ‘aunty’. When Armin was two, Levi eventually caved.   
Hanji hadn’t changed a bit. The tatted dark hair in a high ponytail was there, the round goofy goggles and the kooky expression plastered across her oily face.  
Her arms were looped around the shoulders of two young men. Levi and someone Armin didn’t recognise.   
When inspecting him, one word from Levi’s entry occurred to him: _slimy_. All skin and bones, Nile Dok looked tall; taller than Armin’s short mother at least. His hair was dark and slicked back and his eyes were lined with kohl. The look on his face was one of cool smugness so Armin figured this polaroid must have been taken after the fateful night of Ackerman and Dok.

Isabel was sneaky and Armin didn’t hear her careful movements. He jumped when she latched onto the decades-old photo. She let out a loud cackle. “Dok? Gods, I hope not. Damn, imagine if slime bag was your daddy.”

“I don’t know. I can’t imagine it but the dates add up.”

“I mean, I always knew something happened between them but,” she paused and a shudder wracked through her body, “aw—poor Levi.”

Armin rolled his baby blue eyes and Isabel fell back, fanning herself with the faded snapshot of the past.

“Go on, go on.”

Armin obliged and flipped the page.

~

_January 24 th 1995._

_I feel like a school girl. All ‘oh, dear diary, he’s so my type!’ But holy fucking shit, Mike Zakarius is a nice piece of ass._

_And I would know. He can do some things to a little omega like myself. He’s gonna make someone happy as hell one day. Not me, no thank you. I’ll take the package but it was delivered to the wrong person.  
Nanaba is more his type, anyway. Sweet and loving with a quiet fiery side. Not that I’d know anything about that._

~

Armin shut the notebook. Levi never spoke of his insecurities to anyone and so it would make sense that his only means of venting would be with pen and paper. His mother’s insecurities struck a nerve within Armin. Armin didn’t feel enough. Eren was strong-willed and fiercely capable and yet, Armin was Armin.    
Isabel picked up on his distressed aura, something she had an affinity for, and she snatched the diary from his trembling hands. She reopened it, scanned the entry and tutted.

“Levi has always been difficult. I wouldn’t worry about it, Min. He has a way of pulling himself out.”

“It just hit very close to home.”

“Well, he’s your momma so that’s hardly surprising.”

Armin sat at the edge of the bed, staring out the window, brown paint peeling and cracking on the panelling. The dusky country roads were winding, looping around the dense forest surrounding their small patch of paradise. Rocks were kicked up by passing herds of deer and landed in the fractured road. Armin didn’t know any other home. He was comfortable here with his confidants and the cold country air.   
Isabel joined him on the edge of the bed and rested a hand on Armin’s knee.

“Hey, look at this.” She presented him with another polaroid and Armin accepted it, handling it with extreme care.

It was at a costume party; an event that Armin was sure his mother had been forced to attend against his own will. The costume he adorned absolutely wasn’t his own doing. Someone (see: Hanji) had drawn whiskers on his face, lined his thin eyes and coloured in his nose. Armin had to admit that he looked precious.   
To his left was Nanaba, a familiar face. They lived in the city but kept in contact and often sent gifts. They wore a tattered bed sheet and their face was pale except for deep panda eyes. They looked good despite the simplicity.   
They looked younger, brighter, as though they were untouched by the horrors of adulthood. Armin smiled.

“Nanaba looks really good.”

Isabel peeked, sighing happily. “Yeah, they do. Though, they aren’t who I’m concentrating on,” she joked.

Armin shifted his gaze and looked at the focus of the photograph.   
So, this was Mike Zakarius. My, oh my. He was head and shoulders above Levi and looked as though he belonged in some underwear commercial.   
The gladiator costume he wore left little to the imagination and Armin had to peel his eyes from thick thighs. Christ, this man could be his father. There weren’t many similarities. Mike seemed to be all height and brawn whilst Armin was slight and meek. His dirty blond hair was a far cry from Armin’s golden strands.   
More of a match than Dok, but still left more to be desired.

Armin had always thought that he’d know. Something akin to a bolt of pure energy striking him and letting him there was no doubt. He hadn’t had that revealing feeling yet and he craved it.

“Save the best ‘til last,” Isabel sneered, gently placing the polaroid at Mike’s entry before flipping the page.

This wasn’t a short entry in a scrawled hand but was careful and long. Armin’s chest felt ready to burst.

~

_February 1 st 1995._

_He took me to an expensive restaurant. Steak, lobster, the whole thing. Luxuries I never thought I would try. Honestly, I didn’t want to go and I was tempted to back out but Hanji and Nanaba convinced me to give it a shot. I shouldn’t have let them talk me into it._

_He’s unobtainable. Completely out of my league and I’m falling so hard I can barely breathe. I met him through Mike which was awkward but Mike didn’t seem to care. He was nice about the whole thing.  
He’ll lose interest. I give it about a week. He’s probably just looking for an easy lay._

_He’s gorgeous. Just… look at him. At least a foot taller than me and with the bluest eyes I have ever seen. His hair is stupid, slicked back to the side and so gold. Gold!_

_My favourite thing about him though is when he lets his guard down. When he sleeps in until 10AM and his hair is out of place and messy. When he wanders around my cramped apartment in his underwear, rubbing at his eyes and begging for coffee as though it’s already home to him._

_I won’t say that dreaded phrase. I won’t. I can’t._

_He’ll soon see the error of his ways and leave me trailing behind._

_Erwin Smith, you have ruined me._

~

Armin closed the notebook. Isabel leaned over and hushed him, wiping tears from his leaking eyes. He hadn’t even realised he was crying. He shifted a little, bringing his hands up and wiping his soaked cheeks.

“You won’t find a photograph.”

Armin looked at her, furrowed his brows and frowned.

“Sorry?”

“I said, you won’t find a photograph.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. There was a photo, once. Long time ago, you know? Your poor momma didn’t want the bad memories.”

Bad memories? Erwin sounded great, a real ray of sunshine in Levi’s seemingly gloomy grey existence. He seemed good; healthy for Levi. He voiced his opinion to Isabel and she raised her hands as to defend herself.

“You’re preachin’ to the choir, Min. I don’t think he wanted the reminder of what could have been. He was so stuck thinking would leave that he decided to do it first,” she explained, shrugging and flopping backwards onto the bed. “Easier that way or something.”

Armin nodded. He wouldn’t pretend to understand the way his mother’s mind worked but he had an inkling of an idea.

Three names, three potentials. Some seemed better than other but he had what he needed for now. He’d let Levi know what he’d done eventually but for now, he had some invitations to write out and addresses to find.

~

_Feburary 15 th 1995._

_Oh, fuck._


	2. And All I've Learned Has Overturned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three unread emails.  
> “They all said yes. They’re all coming,” he spat out, panicking. He sank to the floor and Isabel looked up, groggy and still half-asleep.  
> “What, honey?” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She seemed to waken instantly when she saw the state that Armin had found himself in. They were all coming, they were all coming, they were all coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm trying to churn out a chapter a week and this week it was HARD because i have two ear infections, a chest infection and the flu. wish me luck for next week
> 
> once again, thank you to the lovely [Elvamire](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvamire) for doing the crappy beta work

The night was long and cold. Armin pulled his blanket tighter around his small body and shivered, blowing freezing vapours into the crisp air. He had scoured the internet, phone books and the knowledge of the dear farmhands. He used all the methods he could think of to acquire the addresses of his three potential fathers.

Erwin was a hotshot lawyer. Nile ran a small business specialising in children’s psychology. Mike was a little harder to track; he wandered a lot, a bit of a lone wolf, but he had released two or three travel books and Armin was able to find an email address through combing travel blogs and publishing sites.

It was 3AM. The birds continued to roost and weren’t to wake for another hour or so, and the sky was still darkly cloaked with the glistening stars shining just as bright as the midnight heavens.

Three potential fathers, three emails sent. Three pleas worded in Levi’s manner. Armin didn’t know if they knew of Levi’s son, of _their_ potential son, and so he didn’t want to scare them. He wanted their company, their trust, and most importantly, their cooperation.  

He hit send. He didn’t want to reread his own typed words; he didn’t want to realise that this was a bad idea and change his mind. He closed the browser and shut his laptop.

\---

It was finally morning, the sun was comfortable with its position in the cloudless sky and shone brightly over the green valley, bringing the light of day into the broad land.

It was bright and warm, and Levi had finished tending to the animals; feeding, cleaning and generally just giving them attention. He had been awake for hours—unsurprisingly, as he was an early riser—and the cottage that he now proudly called home was still silent with the lack of activity. Farlan and Isabel would be waking up, or already roaming deeper in the fields, and Armin was probably still passed out in bed. That, or he was reading, writing or whatever else it was that Levi's quiet son did with his off-time. Levi didn’t depend on their help and he would be able to get along without it, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

Levi had never had many close friends. He hadn’t had a whole lot of anything, really. His mother was his life and so when she passed on, Levi was crushed, and he turned to dark ways in order to continue his life. Sometimes, he figured that maybe he didn’t want to. It didn’t take Levi more than the two hands he possessed to count the names of people he had grown close to.  Armin, his son, was a beautiful person, inside and out, something that he had obviously received from someone other than himself, and Levi didn’t know how he could be any prouder of him. Levi had never wanted children but he wouldn’t have given up Armin for the world. The mother and son were complete opposites, in physicality and mentality, and from an outsider’s point-of-view there seemed no way for the two to be connected in any way. They didn’t know anything.

Farlan and Isabel were his two closest confidants, that was a given, and he often caught himself smiling at the remembrance of happy moments they had shared with one another. Growing up with Farlan and Isabel, they had never had the best of times but they made every moment as painless as possible whenever they were around each other. They had a way of bringing each other up, making sure that each of them was doing as well as they could, that they weren’t helplessly wandering around in a hopeless world and they had a direction, as simple as it may seem. Isabel had cried when Levi offered her a home and Farlan had held him close. Levi never usually allowed intimate acts around him, making him slightly uncomfortable and squirm a little, but he held fast and he consoled his valued friends.  
Isabel had always joked when they were younger, delinquent children, scrapping and stealing to get through the day, taking petty things and fighting off older kids as a way of letting them know that the three small vagabonds were not to be meddled with, that they would always be together. That they were connected forevermore and she would laugh, claiming that there was no way that Levi could ever, ever get rid of the small red-head that had come to call him ‘brother’.

The small grey man met Hanji, a crazed lab-assistant, through extra-curricular activities in college. He had never wanted to join them and he still felt resentment for the old crone of a professor that he was forced to endure for those long boring years. They didn’t have many similarities and they were, quite frankly, not designed to be friends. Hanji had a way with people, though, mainly by annoying the fuck out of them until they were forced to say ‘yes’, just to stop the barrage of shit that she threw their way, day in and day out. She had forced her way into Levi’s life and he had gotten used to her raving company. Her incessant knocking on his door at god-awful hours of the morning when she’d had too little sleep, too many energy drinks and had had some sort of scientific breakthrough that Levi didn’t understand and, honestly, didn’t really care about. He’d peek through the peephole and once he realised it was Hanji, he’d be forced to open up; if he didn’t she’d end up bombarding the door until she pissed off his neighbours and Levi fiercely considered harm upon others, or one ‘other,’ in particular.

Nanaba was another one of Hanji’s poor victims. They were quiet, yet calculating and sometimes a harsh comment would slip through their thin lips and take the room by surprise. Levi would smirk; the most silent of people were the most dangerous. Scheming, fierce and ready to cut people down with venomous words if needs be. Nanaba was beautiful; not in a typical way, they weren’t all voluptuous curves, plump lips and curling hair. They were stunningly androgynous and Levi had caught himself on more than one occasion looking at them with lust in his gunmetal eyes. Their hair was straight, short and buzzed at the sides, giving them a militant look which added to the mystique of their blurred past and cool demeanour. They had somewhat similar interests, more than Levi shared with Hanji, and he liked their company. They weren’t tiring and Levi didn’t feel the need to clean every surface they had touched whenever they visited his cramped college apartment.

He was apprehensive. Nervous about seeing them against after so long apart. He also felt something else, a skittish warmth that spread through his body at the idea that he’d be surrounded by different people. Not that he wasn’t unappreciative of his son, Farlan or Isabel, but it would be nice to have a mix of faces around. Now that the day of the wedding was beginning to loom over them, he would have to quickly get used to a mix of people since his quaint farm would be the venue. He found it quite odd, really. It didn’t smell the best most of the time and it was always alive, buzzing with the noise of their animals, but he supposed that that’s what Armin wanted: familiarity. Besides, it seemed unlikely that Eren, his brat of a son-in-law, was afraid of getting himself dirty since Levi didn’t think he’d seen him exactly ‘clean’ since their first meeting when he was trying to make a good impression (he didn’t). Armin loved him, though, so Levi knew that was all he needed to know. He wasn’t going to meddle with his son’s love life and he knew that Armin wouldn’t say anything about his own long-past affairs.

Levi had to swallow the guilt that was beginning to bubble within him, threatening to climb his throat and spill like tar from between his thin lips, leaving a wretched taste and making him confess a multitude of things. Levi had been stupid, reckless; he had bounced from guy to guy, and it made him sick to think that he couldn’t even be absolutely crystal on who his son’s father was. To him, it was fairly apparent, but with three potentials, it was anyone’s guess.

It had been a thoughtful walk back to his cottage. It had been a while since he’d allowed himself to think so freely, to let thoughts and feelings bounce around his head and develop upon themselves. He felt lighter, almost. He entered his home. He hadn’t locked the door, no one was around at this time in the morning and they were pretty much the only people around for a half-mile. If someone was to break into his home, they had already showed enough determination to take whatever they damned well pleased.   
He moved quietly through his home, taking notice of the time and figured that his son and housemates would still be resting. Moving into the kitchen, he refilled the kettle, flicked the switch and leaned back against the bench, listening to bubbles swelling within the warming metal.

A bang sounded from upstairs. Isabel probably fell out of bed. He snickered and turned to face a cupboard. Standing on his toes, he pulled open a door, reached in and retrieved a generous mug, large enough to hold at least two helpings of coffee. Anything that would help him start the day.   
He had Hanji arriving later so he would need all the help that he could get. He considered praying.

He sat down, placing his coffee mug on the kitchen table before tidying the placemats. He wanted everything to be perfect for when the guests arrive, even if they would ruin all of Levi’s hard work the moment they walked through the door. Hanji would probably use the dirt trail to the house and then forget to take her shoes off, which would leave Levi on his hands and knees for twenty minutes scrubbing at the floor. He reminded himself to make a sign telling people to use the damn path.

\---

The aging mother found himself sprucing up the house. He went out into the garden and picked their homegrown harvest. They liked to rely on their own ability and since the nearest shopping centre was a good mile away, it was always smart to have a back-up; to have their own little stash so they knew they could eat for at least one more day.

By the time he was finished, covered in dirt and grime, and his basket filled to the brim, he returned to the kitchen. He placed the basket on the counter and turned when he heard someone entering.

Armin wandered in, bleary-eyed and rubbing the purple blotches beneath his blue eyes.

“Hey, mom,” he said, yawning and taking a seat.

“Hello. Sleep well?”

Armin nodded and rested his head against the cold table surface. “Coffee,” he mumbled.

Levi chuckled, filling a cup with coffee and loading it up with cream and sugar. Armin couldn’t drink it straight, black and with no sweeteners, not like his mother. He must have gotten his sweet tooth from his father.

“Here you go,” he said quietly, placing the cup in front of his sleepy son, chuckling as Armin reached forward with gusto, practically inhaling the liquid. He cleared his throat. “Have you seen Isabel?”

Armin stilled, his eyes wide. A pause. “No, why?”

“Haven’t seen her yet. Farlan came traipsing through not too long ago. He’s probably in the fields by now.”

“Probably. Isabel might be in her room still. She’ll be fine.”

Levi lifted a thin brow. He hadn’t doubted that. Knowing that Isabel would be fine was akin to knowing that water was wet; there was nothing to worry about when it came to her. Her worrisome years were over and she was settled, living in a comfortable home with a steady income and surrounded by as many animals as she could have ever dreamed of.

Armin had been acting strange. They hadn’t made eye contact, not that either of them were brilliant at it, but the inkling was still there. He also hadn’t hugged his mother or offered him the smallest bit of affection which was quite un-Armin-like. Levi crossed his arms and inspected the time. It was late; a lot later than Armin usually rose.

“Are you okay?” Levi asked, reaching forward and resting a hand against the blond boy’s forehead. He didn’t seem to have a fever.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, fast enough to trip over his words. He batted his mother’s hand away and stood, sliding the mug across the table and making his way back towards the stairs.

“If you say so. Tell me if you’re starting to feel even slightly sick. I’ll take any excuse for Hanji not to turn up today.”

“Don’t be such a grouch, mom,” Armin said, his voice quiet as he began his trek up the stairs.

Levi mimicked him, pulling a face and picking up his coffee cup. There was still some left but he felt nauseous at the prospect of drinking something so sweet. He poured it down the sink.

\---

Levi had prepped the spare bedrooms for his expected guests. They would be arriving soon and Levi was feeling apprehensive. He had no idea how it was going to go but judging from previous visits, it could only end in raised voices and Levi hiding from the tatted scientist.

Minutes went by and Levi heard the unmistakable sound of tires skidding down the road. He hurried to the front window and pulled back the curtains, peering out into the dirt road to see who it was arriving. It was a beat-up old car, so it was no surprise who it was in the driver’s seat; and who it was in the passenger’s seat holding on for dear life. They were speeding and the rocks kicking up at the back of the car were thumping against the bumper. Levi could practically hear Hanji’s manic squealing as she skidded around a corner and came to a stop at the front of the drive. He watched Nanaba stumble out of the car and lean against the cool metal.

Levi decided to go outside and meet them. Nanaba saw him approaching and walked over, their arms open wide as they took him in their arms and held him close. Levi brought his arms around their waist and patted their back. He stepped back and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Was that a fun drive?” he asked, smirking at Nanaba.

“Don’t talk to me. Next time I come here, I’m renting a cab.”

Levi guffawed. “Hah. Good luck getting someone to drive down here.”

“Then I’ll walk,” they declared, rubbing at their temples.

Hanji ran to the front of the car, carrying suitcases that left Levi worried, wondering how long she thought she was going to be staying.

“Want some help?” Levi asked, raising a brow and staring at her.

“No, no! I’m good—great, actually. Same room as last time? I’ll just take these up. Not be long!” she said, her tongue tripping over words in the haste to get them out.

Levi watched her go, dropping cases and struggling to pick them back up. Levi didn’t bother going over since Hanji would just shoo him away. He turned back to Nanaba. “Do you need any help?”

“Oh, no. I only brought a small case. I didn’t bring chemistry supplies and journals.” Nanaba rolled their pale eyes. Levi blanched.

“Wait, what?”

\---

After leaving the kitchen and his mother, Armin ran to Isabel’s room. It was a weekend so she would be sleeping in, taking some time to rest before going out to spend time with the animals. He swung open her door and slammed it shut, breathing heavily. He had checked his account before going downstairs.

Three unread emails.

“They all said yes. They’re all coming,” he spat out, panicking. He sank to the floor and Isabel looked up, groggy and still half-asleep.

“What, honey?” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She seemed to waken instantly when she saw the state that Armin had found himself in. They were all coming, they were all coming, they were all coming.

“Today. They’re coming today. Nile, Mike and Erwin; they’re coming here.”

“Oh gods, and you still haven’t told your momma?”

Armin shook his head and Isabel groaned. She peeled the covers back and swung her legs out of bed, slipping her feet into bunny slippers and standing, stretching her arms over her head and bending at the waist.

“Well, can’t do anything ‘bout it now. Guess you’re just gonna have to suck it up, Min.”

The blond boy groaned and covered his face, rubbing the pads of his hands into his eyes.

Isabel chuckled and reached down, taking his hands from his face and pulling him up to his feet.

“Come on, you. Let’s go make you look all pretty to meet your daddy.”

\---

Armin was ready. Whenever they arrived, he would be ready for them. He still didn’t know how he was going to break the news to his mother, but he knew that he was going to have to do it at some point. Today, or maybe tomorrow. They had a lot of buildings on their land, buildings that they used seasonally. It was days into fall and so their birthing paddock wasn’t in use. It had been cleaned, refreshed and was ready for use spring rolled around and so, Armin knew that it was a good place to allow them to stay. There was no reason for Levi to go in there. It should be safe.

Armin was sitting on the edge of his bed, rereading the responses he’d received, and Isabel was standing at the window, staring out into wide country. Isabel perked up and squinted, raising a thin brow.

“Something wrong?” Armin asked, putting his phone down.

“Look out the window!”

He moved to the window and pushed aside the curtain. Three vehicles were moving down the dirt road and their destination was obvious. There was only their little cottage this far into the country, their farm and worldly possessions. They were finally here and Armin began to panic, his heart rate increasing rapidly.

The three cars were cruising now and Armin realised that he had to hurry; he had to stop them before his mother realised that they were there. Levi, Hanji and Nanaba were lounging in the study, drinking bitter tea and catching up. The last thing on Armin’s mind was to disturb them.

Armin left his room, tearing through the hallway, stumbling down the stairs and sliding into the kitchen. He ripped open the door and ran down the path. He jumped into the road, waving his hands at the approaching vehicles to get them to slow down, to stop, to not get any closer to the cottage. Levi would notice them. Levi noticed everything.

The cars slowed before coming to a stand-still, one behind the other. Armin approached the first car, a far cry from Hanji’s banged up mess. It was clean and didn’t have a scratch on it, but it was also… large. A family car. Seven seats and television screens affixed to the headrests. The man in the driver’s seat was skinny, bones and sinew, and had short black hair. Nile. He rolled the window down.

“Follow the road. Drive by the cottage. The road ends at a gated pasture and you can park there,” Armin instructed him, smacking the edge of window and moving to the next car. He didn’t even wait for a response. He heard Nile sigh and then skid off.

The next car wasn’t a car. It was a pick-up truck. Camping supplies were tied down securely and the man in the front seat was rugged with a beard and long hair, tied up into a bun. He had on a pair of shades and a lit cigarette between his lips. Mike Zakarius.   
Armin repeated what he’d told Nile and Mike nodded, taking his cigarette from between his lips and flicking the ash, watching it as it drifted away in the wind. Armin smiled and moved along.

Erwin Smith drove a pristine car. Matte black with tinted windows and leather seats. Armin didn’t have time to speak, to interrupt the lawyer’s thoughts and instruct him in what to do.

“Oh, hello,” Erwin said, raising a thick brow.

“Hey. Would you be able to—“

“I didn’t realise Levi had a farm. I didn’t figure him to be a farmer—oh, sorry, you were saying?”

“He inherited it from his uncle,” Armin told him, filling in gaps of knowledge. “I was saying, could you please follow the road to the end and park near the pasture.”

“Park near the pasture? Why can’t I park in the drive?”

Armin hesitated and tapped his chin. “Because… because you can’t. You just can’t. You have to park at the pasture. I’ll meet you there.” And he ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/critiques are appreciated!


	3. I Beg Of You (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I’m sorry, and your name is?”  
> “Oh. I’m,” he hesitated, taking a quick breath, “I’m Armin Ackerman.”  
> Erwin blinked. Mike raised his brows. Isabel laughed out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO APOLOGIES
> 
> little miss "i'll get a chapter out every week or so" is a little LIAR and i accidentally took a three month hiatus  
> in my defence..................... i'm lazy
> 
> thank you for waiting patiently and i am so sorry that this chapter is so DAMN SHORT and ends SO BADLY but i was sitting on the first thousand or so words and couldn't really..... get anything down. i didn't wanna force myself so i just wrote what i could, ended it how i could and thought i'd get what i had out there. i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry  
> i will do better with the next chapter!
> 
> oh also it's unedited because i'm sick of looking at it L O L

It was a coward’s move. Armin was a coward: a small, golden coward.

He was out of breath. Physical exertion had never been one of his strong suits. From a young age, he’d begged his mother to write notes to give to his tutors to allow him to skip gym, to sit in the library and read. Levi had obliged at first, quickly scrawling a note for Armin to snatch before running up the dirt path to catch the school bus. As Armin grew and didn’t grow out of the desperate pleas, Levi spent a night sitting up, revising and writing a multitude of notes. Armin had never thanked him for that.

He skidded across the gravel, his arms coming up to catch himself and he caught himself at the door of the cottage. He spread his hands, bringing his head down and breathing fast. His cold breath was materialising in front of him, thin tendrils of exhalation drifting in front of him. His eyes closed, his heart opened. He felt tears welling up, threatening to bubble over cerulean and he willed them down. There was no good in crying and nothing would come of it. He angrily wiped a hand over his face, stopping the cascading waters before they finally tipped the scales and broke over.

The door opened with a quiet creak. Armin flailed, all arms and legs, and fell forward. He brought his hands up to shield his face and closed his eyes, waiting for impact. It never came. Slowly, he opened an eye, peeking around him. What he saw, he wished he hadn’t.

“Oh, hello, mother.”

Levi stood above him with a confused gaze drifting across his face. His thin lips pulled into a hard line and brows furrowed.

“I’m getting too old for this,” he muttered, pulling Armin to his feet and patting him down. “There, no cuts or scrapes. What are you doing?”

Armin sniffed and hurried to mask his distraught features with a warm smile. “Nothing! I came out for some fresh air and to get away from Hanji’s voice.” He laughed and hoped that it was enough to throw Levi off the scent.

“Sure, sure. Now, what were you really doing out here? I’m your mother, Armin Ackerman, you cannot fool me,” he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arm. If he tapped his foot then Armin knew he was going to be in deep trouble.

He tapped his foot.

“No reason, really. I just came out to get some air. Everything has been so… stressful. You know, with the wedding and whatnot, and now everyone is arriving and I’m overwhelmed, I guess.”

Levi tutted and let his hands fall to his sides. Reaching forward, he ruffled Armin’s hair. “If you want to pull out, you can.”

“No! Gods, no. I don’t want that. I just want it to be over.”

Levi nodded. He understood wanting things to end. He didn’t understand marriage, or commitment, or anything that revolved around having another person tied to you, having them with you in all matters and being allowed no time to be free, to be yourself. He didn’t want that. Or… he didn’t want that now. Time had changed him; _circumstances_ had changed him. Memories crept up on him and he sealed his heart, refusing them admission to invade him.

Armin blew a strand of golden hair away from his face and pushed by his mother. “I’m just going to go make sure Isabel is awake. I need some help for… something,” he said, patting Levi on the head and laughing as Levi rushed to grab his hand, to scold him for making fun of his height. Again.

\--

Armin slipped out. He took the stairs two at a time and rushed into Isabel’s room, slamming the door behind him and keeping it closed with his meek body.

“What’s up, Min?” Isabel spoke around a mouthful of cheese puffs before throwing another handful in to join the first. She sputtered and rearranged herself, crossing her legs and dipping her hand into the bag. She pulled her hand out, clutching nothing, fingers covered in an orange crust and she frowned.

“They’re all down the valley.”

“What?” she asked, stopping mid-chew to contemplate what Armin had said.

“They’re all down the valley. I need to take them to the birthing paddock but I am losing my mind,” he croaked out. He fell to his knees and dragged a solitary hand down his face, thumb and forefinger rubbing at blue eyes.

“Well, then I guess we ought to give them a warm country welcome,” she said, jumping up and brushing dust from her clothes, leaving tracks in their wake.

Armin rolled his eyes. Isabel hadn’t grown up in the country; Armin was the only one that flaunt that he had, not that he wanted to. The country was beautiful, pristine and full of life, but it wasn’t the city; it wasn’t a simple bus ride away from a mall, or a slow stroll to your friend’s house. No, everything in the country was measured in distances, availability and general ‘do-I-have-the-time?’ because nothing was simple. Armin wished he’d grown up in a city, or at the very least, a humble town. He had met his fiancé on his first outing to the city when he’d travelled hours to visit his cousin, Mikasa. She hadn’t mentioned her rambunctious roommate and Armin would have been thankful for the warning.

The backs of his eyelids were a lot more inviting than the next few hours would be and Armin wished he could stay cooped up in Isabel’s small room but real life beckoned. He heard a snicker before he was yanked to his feet, his shoulder complaining for the brute strength Isabel had exhibited before practically yanking the bone from its socket. He winced and followed after her.

Travelling down the stairs, they were an odd pair. A joyous redhead with her dirtied dungarees and blond with his pressed shirt and nicest (most intact) jeans. Levi grunted and waved in their direction. He probably didn’t know what they were up to and he, mostly, didn’t care. As long as no animals were harmed and all parts of his farm were intact by the end of the day, they could do what they liked. After this whole endeavour, Levi would probably be adding a disclaimer to that sentiment.

They left the cottage and began tracking down the dirt road.  
“So, they went this way?” Isabel asked, nodding towards the birthing paddock at the very end of their farm. She kicked at a stray rock and watched it bounce into the glade.

 “It’s where I left them. If they’ve moved from there, I wouldn’t know,” he said, shrugging, then a horrible idea occurred to him. “Oh Gods. I forgot. They all know each other, don’t they?”

“Yup.”

“So they’re all going to be talking?”

“I would say so, yup.”

“And they’ll all realise what they have in common?”

Isabel shushed him before the last word had completely fled from his lips. “Oh, shush you. I’m sure they have a lot more in common than you think. They all had… time to spare for Levi, sure, but they ran the same circles. They’ll probably just be catching up.”

Catching up was how Isabel put it, but it didn’t seem to dampen the dread coursing through Armin’s body. He shook at the very thought of having to see them all again, to have to explain what was happening and why they were there. If they were smart men, which Armin assumed they would be considering Levi’s particular tastes, then they would be able to figure it out for themselves. They were at an age where having children wasn’t an anomaly and considering Armin’s age…

Well, it wouldn’t take a genius.

\---

A few minutes later and they could see the cars across the way. They were parked in a neat line and Erwin was out of his car and leaning against Mike’s. He had a smile across his face and every now and again, he tossed his head back to let out a strong laugh.

Nile didn’t seem to be joining in. His car was parked, sure, but all windows were up. Either he didn’t want to catch up and was busy, or something else had happened in that long ago portion of history.

Isabel ran ahead and yelled. “Hey, guys!”

Erwin looked over and Mike poked his head out of the window, turning to the sound. Erwin’s face lit up with recognition and after sharing a short word with his old friend, Mike followed suit.

Isabel reached them and began a short conversation at the car. Armin sped up, terrified at what Isabel could be saying. When he entered hearing range, he realised that she was sharing anecdotes, remarking on the times they spent together when they were younger.

Armin stood back a little, leaning against Mike’s truck and listening in on the conversation. Voices quietened and they turned to look at Armin. A weary smile touched his face and he waved, his hand moving slowly as the men processed him and Isabel did her best to keep the conversation flowing.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Erwin started, moving forward to take Armin’s hand and shake it. “Then again, you are quite young. I’m sorry, and your name is?”

“Oh. I’m,” he hesitated, taking a quick breath, “I’m Armin Ackerman.”

Erwin blinked. Mike raised his brows. Isabel laughed out loud.

“Yeah, Ackerman. You heard it right. Levi had a little one of his own. Who would of thought it?” she joked, doing nothing to ease Armin’s anxiety. His chest felt about ready to burst.

Erwin’s next words weren’t composed and came out in an almost wheezing manner. “And you’re… how old?”

“Twenty-two.”

Erwin wheezed again. Mike looked over at his friend and a smirk formed on his warm face. The sound of a window rolling down broke the awkwardness and everyone turned to look at Nile, sitting away in the comfort of his car.

“Who’s that?” he shouted, nodding towards Armin. Armin tried to shrink, hiding his already small frame behind the truck.

“Armin Ackerman. He’s twenty-two,” Mike explained, leaving a second for Nile to digest the information. “Oh, and he’s Levi’s kid.”

Nile’s features turned to those of shock and he rolled the window back up.

**Author's Note:**

> comments/critiques are appreciated!


End file.
